


Rainbow’s Doghouse

by ShadeOps21



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Australian Jokes, Basically just making this up as I go along, Dedicated to my own dog “Baloo”, Dog Allergies, Drabbles, Military Working Dogs, RIP 2006/7-2018, Slice of Life, dog people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-07-18 06:10:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16112477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeOps21/pseuds/ShadeOps21
Summary: As is the course with recent recruitment strategies, Rainbow acquires two new operators to fill a unique capability gap...... just so happens that one of them has four legs, a tail, and a bite that’s worse than it’s bark.Boomer, a Belgian Malinois attack and sentry dog, and her handler Brett “Hound” Price-Herd join Rainbow, and things aren’t quite the same as a result.





	1. Chapter 1

“So, we’re getting another pair of operators?” Jordan asked as Eliza took a seat at the table across from him in the mess hall. She nodded as she set a manilla folder down onto the table between them. He reached over to take a look but was stopped by her hand, and she slid the folder closer to her person. “Alright… who’re we getting?”

“A pair of assaulters from the Tactical Assault Group in Australia,” she said as she cracked open a can of soda, “callsigns are Hound and Boomer.”

“Hound and Boomer,” Jordan repeated, “sound like they’re from a cartoon. When they due in?”

“Later today, Six only forward me the info about an hour ago,” Ash remarked with thinly veiled frustration. “I’ve been busy working on getting their room prepared.”

Jordan’s eyebrows shot up, “They’re rooming together? I thought Six was firm on the whole ‘one operator, one room’ policy that Homeland forced on her?”

Ash just smirked, “It was part of the deal that Hound negotiated if he were to be recruited into Rainbow.”

“Wait, we could do that?” Jordan asked, a little shocked at that particular piece of information.

“Six actually only wanted Hound, but he fought us to have take her as well as him.” Ash chuckled when Thermite sat up a little at the use of the pronoun, “In his words, ‘we’re a package deal, she comes or I don’t’.”

“And Six caved?”

“Let’s just say,” Ash said with a smile as she finally allowed Jordan to take and view the contents of the folder, chuckling when his eyes widened in realisation, “the pair of them will provide us with a new tactical option.”

Jordan bit his bottom lip to try and contain a laugh, “You know that Jack is not going to be happy about this, right?”

“Oh I know…”

* * *

 

The ramp of the C-130H lowered in front of the small group of waiting Rainbow operators. It was customary for a small number of the team to greet their new recruits at the aircraft to welcome them. This time, it was Ash and Thermite accompanied by IQ, Blitz, and Lion.

“So, a pair of Australians,” Blitz asked quietly, watching a figure descend down the ramp, “this should be interesting.”

“Brett Price-Herd?” Ash called out over the sound of the aircraft’s engines shutting down. “Welcome to Rainbow!”

Brett smiled and approached with a duffle bag over one shoulder, and his hand extended to meet hers for a handshake. “Good to be here, but please, either Brett or Hound.”

“Where’s your partner?” Blitz asked with a nod of his head towards the aircraft. Brett frowned, looked down at his legs, then with a loud sigh and shake of his head looked back at the parked Hercules.

To everyone’s surprise, he let out a loud whistle and shouted out. “Boomer! Come ‘ere!” There was a few seconds silence as the operators, excluding Ash and Thermite, stood in shock at how their new recruit addressed his fellow team member.

The surprise was short lived as a dog wearing a brown tactical harness and a fabric muzzle jogged down the ramp and over to sit down beside Brett’s right leg. “Good girl… guys, this is Boomer.”

Eliza and Jordan chuckled as Elias jumped back a few steps away from the dog in mild fright, while Monika crouched down to eye level with the dog and leant forward to pat her, catching herself before she got too close. A quick nod from Brett, however, and her hands found their new home around Boomer’s ears. Lion watched on with a raised eyebrow, not quite sure what to make of this new development.

“I didn’t know we were getting a dog…” Blitz called out from his safe distance, eyes fixed on the dog that was now flopped down on the tarmac in the midst of a belly rub from his fellow German operator.

“Neither did we, until earlier today,” Eliza answered, stealing a glance at the new member of the team in question.

Lion frowned, “I trust that she’s toilet trained?”

Brett laughed, “Yeah, no need to worry about finding dog crap in your bunk or anything like that.”

“How old is she?” IQ asked without looking up, still focused on giving Boomer the belly rub of a lifetime.

“Well, I was partnered with her when she was brought into service, so about five or six years old, give or take.”

“She doesn’t bite, does she?” Blitz asked, finally nearing to stand within a meter of Brett and the others. The Australian smirked at the others and then looked over at the German.

“Well, she only bites who she’s told to bite.” The remark made Blitz step backwards once more, to the amusement of everyone else. “Look, as long as you approach her slowly and from the front, or call for her first, you’ll be fine. I’ll take her around and get her familiar with everyone else soon enough anyway, so she knows friend from foe.”

Thermite snorted back a laugh, “Good luck getting close enough to Jack, Craig and Sebastien.”

“Why, they not dog people?” Brett asked with a sideways look.

“Jack’s allergic, but tolerable. Craig and Seb… best keep Boomer on a short leash, for their benefit.”

“Duly noted…”

* * *

 

Jack Estrada sat on a couch in one of the base’s two rec rooms, a magazine in his hands as he listened to his fellow FBI officer and close friend, Miles Campbell, duke it out in a game of one-versus-one on some kind of fighting game against GSG9 specialist Dominic Brunsmeier.

“Man, this is bullshit,” Miles exclaimed as he lost the fifth round in a row against the German, who looked at him with a sly smirk.

“You need to fight smart, not hard,” Dom teased as they reset for another round, “utilise your combination attacks and move around the environment.”

“I keep telling you that, Miles,” Jack chimed in from the couch, noting how both Elias and Monika had entered the room, Monika with a wide smile on her face as she teased Elias about something, “you gotta be mooorree—aachoo!” He was rudely cut off as he let out a loud and surprising sneeze.

The two men playing the game paused and fixed him an odd look, “Dude, where the hell did that come from?” Miles asked him.

“I have no clue,” he responded, rubbing his nose. Jack took a look around, and noted that Monika was now standing in the furthest part of the room and looking rather sheepish. “Hey, Moni, you okay?”

“I’m… I’m so sorry Jack, I completely forgot…” she began, and Elias started to chuckle in realisation.

“Forgot what?” Jack pressed on, turning around on the couch to face her.

“Forgot you’re allergic… to dogs.”

Jack’s face went blank. For as long as he had lived, Jack had been plagued by a pretty severe allergy to dogs of any and all kinds, severe in the sense that he was extremely sensitive. Sure, he could take medication to control it, but he often simply preferred to avoid contact with the animals in the first place, or people that had come in recent contact with one. The latter was a little harder to address, as he couldn’t very well tell someone to go away just because he was sneezing.

“We have a dog?” Miles broke the silence.

“Yeah,” Elias answered, “Eliza and Jordan are showing the new operators around. We’ve got a Kay-Nine team now, pair of Aussies.”

“We’ve got a dog…” Jack groaned, hands covering his face. “... Six does know I’m allergic, right?”

“I’m going to assume that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, at least in her mind,” Dominic mused, shrugging, “Six works in mysterious ways.”

“They’re going to settle in for the night, since they’ve had a long flight from Australia,” Monika continued on, “them come tomorrow, we’ll all have large meet and greet, get all acquainted.”

Jack sighed again in resignation, “Alright… just remind me to pester Gus for some antihistamines or something.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

“This is going to suck,” Mark muttered to himself as he and his fellow SAS operator Seamus waited in one of the rooms of their training killhouse, decked out in full combat gear as well as protective facemasks and additional padding on their arms and legs. The pair of them, along with Gilles, Adriano and Tina, had been voluntold for a training exercise that also served as a demonstration for the new recruits to ‘show their stuff’.

Their opponents, composed of Brett and his dog Boomer, along with Jordan, Elias and Erik, were the assaulting element. Everyone on both sides was armed with sim-rounds loaded into their weapons, hence the masks, while the defending side wore thick padding on their limbs to protect against potential bite wounds from Boomer. Nobody knew who exactly was going to be taken down by the dog, so they all took precautions.

Up above, the rest of the team gathered on the observation walkways in order to watch the demonstration take place. A handful of them were skeptical of what exact benefits having a dog on side would give them, others just eager to see the new guy in action.

“Alright,” Ash called out, microphone for the course’s loudspeakers in her hand, “simple five versus five, non-explosive breaches only. Win condition is if all members of one side are down and out. On the buzzer.” Ash waited a few moments then set off the loud buzzer horn, signalling the start of the exercise.

Maestro was the first to go down, taken out by joint fire from Maverick and Blitz, the former using the latter and his shield for cover while he shot. Behind them Thermite swept right into the first room, and through the two lined up open doors, shot down Frost who standing across the other side of the building.

Blitz and Maverick pushed further up and turned left into the first hallway, rounding the first left again and taking out Montagne in quick fashion. However, in the room across from them, Sledge was able to shoot at their exposed backs and take out both of them in quick fashion.

Dokkaebi, above them on the platform, scoffed and rolled her eyes as she glanced over to Twitch, “Rookie mistake right there…” Twitch frowned and nodded in agreement, surprised the pair had neglected to check the other room before making entry.

Hound and Boomer swept up the hallway and stopped at the far end, clearing each end of the T-section where they stood. Satisfied he wasn’t going to get shot at, he looked down at Boomer and snapped his fingers. She instantly looked up at him, ears erect and eyes focused directly at him. “Boomer, on my heels.”

Taking a quick breath, he turned around the left corner and made his way down the hall until he reached the doorway up the far corner just before the next bend. Boomer stood right behind him as he peered around to check if it was clear. He caught the end of a rifle barrel through the door, and ducked back around out of sight.

“What is he doing…” Dominic wondered aloud, looking over to both Ash and Gustave before looking back down at the course.

“Boomer, move.” Hound whispered, pointing to the spot next to the open doorway across from them. Boomer ‘nodded’ and quietly paced to lay down right by the doorway, head up and watching said doorway intently. Satisfied she was ready to go, Hound intentionally kicked his foot against the wall.

In the other room, Mute heard the sound and turned around to investigate, stepping through the nearby doorway. As he crossed the threshold, he spotted Hound entering the room across from him. Mute smirked behind his mask, and his finger squeezed on the trigger. Before he could realise it though, he found his arms being dragged down to his right and towards the ground by a sudden weight, his first shots going well off target.

A quick glance down revealed the cause: a huge dog currently firmly latched around his padded arm, biting down with so much force that he felt himself begin to fall down. And without both hands free to catch himself, he did. His rifle fell from his grasp and he landed on his right side, Boomer still latched onto his right arm and tugging at it furiously. Frantic, Mute reached for his sidearm with his left but was cut off by a series of impacts along his vest. He looked up and found Hound aiming his rifle right at him. “You’re down mate, best stay down. Boomer!” At the shout of her name, the dog quickly released and moved to stand ready at Hound’s side.

Mute was about to retort, but Hound had already moved past and into the next room, and a quick series of shots followed by a muffled curse signified that Sledge had met his end as well.

Maybe Six was onto something with the introduction of a dog on the team. He certainly wasn’t expecting to be pulled off balance like that. And his arm was sore despite the padding he was wearing: for the first time in his career, he actually found himself pitying the poor person that ended up in that dog’s unprotected grasp.

* * *

 Outside of the house, Hound was sitting on the ground and giving Boomer a well-earned pat and belly rub, “Such a good girl, aren’t ya Boom?” He cooed to her, with the dog’s tail wagging happily as she leaned into his touch.

They waited as everyone else filed out of the building and gathered around, Ash taking the unspoken position of group leader, “Nice work in there.”

“Cheers, but that’s child's play for ol’ Boom and I,” Hound responded as he stood up, brushing off his pants while Boomer opted to lay down at his feet. He looked over to Mark and smiled, “How’s the arm?”

“A bit sore, but that’s what the pads are for, right?” Mute replied with a dismissive wave.

“Too right. I’d feel sorry for the poor bloke that gets in her bite, but then I remember they’re stupid enough to get themselves in a position to get bit in the first place,” Hound said with a shrug. “Hey, while everyone’s here, I might as well get Boomer to sniff you all and get your scents.”

“Stupid question,” Julien asked from the side, “but why?”

“So the dog knows friend from foe,” Monika answered before Brett could, “unless you want to get bitten.”

“Hey, Hound,” Craig called out from the back of the group, his eyes fixed on the dog at the Australian’s feet, “you got a muzzle for her, right?”

“I do, but I generally put it on for transport…” he answered cautiously, already not liking the tone the SEAL was taking.

“Ease up, big guy,” Valkyrie stepped in before they could come to blows, “Craig here’s a little bit scared of dogs.”

“What do you expect? One nearly mauled me as a toddler.” The SEAL spoke up defensively, and instantly Brett relaxed.

“Look, if she approaches you and you don’t want her close, just say her name firmly and hold out your hand, like this,” he demonstrated, hand out and palm flat like an officer signalling for someone to stop. “I can bet you she’ll stop in her tracks.”

“She better…” Blackbeard muttered to himself.

“Anyone have any other issues or concerns?” Brett asked the rest of the group. When he received no further answer, he nodded, “Alrighty, everyone just spread out and stand relaxed… I’ll lead Boom around to get a few good sniffs of each of you. Shouldn’t take too long.”


	3. The Quiet Moments

It had been an extraordinarily busy day for Brett, Boomer and the rest of Rainbow: back to back training exercises ahead of a multinational counter-terrorism summit being held in London in the coming month. Everyone had been running off their feet for the last few days, the dog handler and his four-legged partner included.

Today had been vehicle centric training, and Boomer had impressed quite a few of her teammates when she jumped _through_ an open car window and latched onto the heavily padded neck of a soldier that had been roleplaying as the enemy for that evolution.

Even then, the tempo of the day’s work had exhausted her, and she lay on her belly on the cool grass outside of the base’s barracks, her head resting on Brett’s thigh as he ran his fingers through the coarse fur between her ears.

“You did well today girl,” Brett praised softly, scratching the top of her head firmly in the way that he _knew_ she loved, “you’ve earned the night off.”

She let out a soft whine, and it was moments and actions like those that had Brett swear that Boomer was a lot more intelligent and a lot more comprehending and understanding than a regular dog, or any other service animal. Boomer was special, there was no doubt about that.

Brett smiled to himself and leant back against the brick of the building, savouring the quiet time with his best friend.

Experience told him that these moments were what he’d cling to when Boomer’s time came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today was really rough for me today... I found picking up this story practically impossible because of it.
> 
> Today, my eleven year old German Shepherd passed away peacefully with myself and my mum by his side at the vet, our family opting to euthanise him after he fell ill rapidly overnight with a ruptured splenic tumour. This was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life (so far).
> 
> He’s been a constant prescence for half of my life, so sitting by his side as he slowly took his last breaths hit me extremely hard (I thought I was prepared for it... I was not). I think part of the reason was because it was so damn sudden. He started to throw up non-stop late last night and by this morning his breathing was really laboured, he was disoriented, he could not keep any food or water down, and he was very lethargic and slow to move...
> 
> I knew that we’d be saying goodbye to him sooner or later, as he was eleven or twelve years old by this point in his life. That he made it this far is a miracle and a blessing on its own right.
> 
> Baloo (or Boo as we all called him) was partly the inspiration for this story, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep writing this as I tended to sit out on the back deck with him by my side as I wrote away...
> 
> I’ll miss you boy...


End file.
